ATHEROSCLEROSIS IN WATANABE HERITABLE HYPERLIPEMIC RABBITS - EVALUATION BY MACROSCOPIC, MICROSCOPIC AND BIOCHEMICAL METHODS AND COMPARISON OF ATHEROSCLEROSIS VARIABLES

The spontaneous development of atherosclerotic disease in 38 homozygou s and 34 heterozygous Watanabe heritable hyperlipidaemic rabbits was e valuated by qualitative and quantitative light microscopy in aorta, co ronary, pulmonary and renal arteries, by naked eye and macroscopic mor phometric estimation of aortic atherosclerosis extent and by biochemic al analysis of aortic cholesterol content. No noteworthy atheroscleros is was demonstrated within 19 months in heterozygous rabbits. In homoz ygous rabbits, atherosclerotic lesions were seen from the age of 4 mon ths and progressed with age. All 19-month-old rabbits had severe ather osclerotic disease. As much as 64% of the variation in atherosclerosis extent/severity could be explained by serum cholesterol and age. A hi ghly significant correlation between the various methods for quantitat ion of atherosclerosis extent and/or severity was demonstrated, sugges ting that quantitative microscopy, macroscopic morphometry and determi nation of aortic cholesterol content may be equally valid as a measure of atherosclerosis in WHHL rabbits and are therefore interchangeable.